Govt appoints Naeem Bokhari as independent director, chairperson of PTV Board

ISLAMABAD: The federal government announced Monday it has appointed anchorperson and lawyer Shahzada Naeem Bokhari as an independent director and the chairperson of the Pakistan Television Corporation's (PTV) Board.

"Pursuant to the provisions of Section 166 of the Companies Act, 2017, the Federal Government is pleased to appoint Shahzada Naeem Bokhari as Independent Director of Pakistan Television Corporation Board," a notification issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting read.

The notification stated that the government had also green-signalled Bokhari's nomination as "Chairman, PTVC Board in line with the Pakistan Television Corporation's Memorandum & Article of Association (Article 95/95A)".

"The Chairman shall, unless he resigns earlier, hold office for a period of 3 years. The Board of Directors, PTVC is directed to ratify his nomination as Chairman," the ministry added in the notification.

Bokhari has earlier hosted Geo News' programme Khabarnaak as well.

Back in September 2020, the appointment of PTV Chairman Arshad Khan and independent directors on the state broadcaster's Board were declared illegal by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in a verdict issued by Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani.

According to the Profit magazine, which cited sources, the Information Ministry had suggested the federal cabinet to limit the PTV Board to eight members, with three independent ones.

"Other candidates for independent members include Muhammad Ayaz Kalyar, Aamir Malik, Syed Waseem Raza, Syed Sajjad Hasan Jafri and Arshad Hasan, Asghar Nadeem Syed, Faisal Qureshi, and Ayesha Tammy Haq," the publication had said.